Snowy Cedrus deodara

Some of you may have noticed that I have a tag called "iPhone Pics."  That's not a blatant ad for Steve Jobs, so much as a contrived way to make excuses for less-than-stellar photos.  Like this one, taken from the front seat of my car, on Glebe Road in Arlington.

 

Despite the crummy picture, I wanted to post it since I had recently written about Cedrus deodara and realized, after contemplating this mostly-lovely (though limbed-up) specimen in an otherwise uninspiring landscape, how nicely the branches hold snowfall.  

In contrast, take Cedrus atlantica glauca or blue atlas cedar, growing off Columbia Pike (below).  The shorter needles mean the plant holds less snow and as a result is largely unaffected by the weather. 

Here's another deodar cedar, standing kitty corner to the blue atlas.  This time the tree hasn't been limbed up, but it is crowded by the white pine (Pinus strobus) to the right.